How to make engagement surveys worth running

In this episode of The Modern Employer Podcast, Olya Yakzhina speaks with the founder of Quokka Hub, a fractional CHRO who has built and repaired People functions in organisations ranging from five to 500 employees.

Together, they explore why engagement surveys often capture what employees feel safe saying rather than what they truly think. In small teams, demographic filters, writing styles and references to specific projects can make supposedly anonymous responses surprisingly identifiable. Even exit interviews do not guarantee honesty, because citing better pay often feels safer than discussing poor management or a difficult working environment.

The conversation also examines how communication-style differences are frequently mistaken for attitude or competence problems. Some people communicate through tasks, detail and decisions, while others need context, reasoning and space to develop an idea. Understanding these differences can help managers adapt their communication before misinterpretation becomes conflict.

Finally, the episode looks at the disconnect between engagement data and everyday management. Survey findings are often presented once, filed away and revisited only when the next survey arrives. Olya and her guest discuss how leaders can bring this data into team conversations and one-to-ones, turning employee feedback into an ongoing source of organisational learning.

Listeners will take away practical ways to respond to survey findings quickly, discuss difficult themes without trying to identify individual respondents, adapt communication to different behavioural styles, and use engagement data to ask better questions in one-to-ones.